Digital Code of Life

A behind-the-scenes look at the most lucrative discipline within biotechnology
Bioinformatics represents a new area of opportunity for investors and industry participants. Companies are spending billions on the potentially lucrative products that will come from bioinformatics. This book looks at what companies like Merck, Glaxo SmithKline Beecham, and Celera, and hospitals are doing to maneuver themselves to leadership positions in this area. Filled with in-depth insights and surprising revelations, Digital Code of Life examines the personalities who have brought bioinformatics to life and explores the commercial applications and investment opportunities of the most lucrative discipline within genomics.
Glyn Moody (London, UK) has published numerous articles in Wired magazine. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Rebel Code. Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Chapter 1: The Code of Life.

Chapter 2: Blast from the Past.

Chapter 3: Genome Delight.

Chapter 4: Speed Matters.

Chapter 5: Science versus Business.

Chapter 6: Showing the Data.

Chapter 7: A Very Different Animal.

Chapter 8: People’s Genes.

Chapter 9: Getting Personal.

Chapter 10: Free Expression.

Chapter 11: The Common Fold.

Chapter 12: The Promise of Proteomics.

Chapter 13: Sum of the Parts.

Chapter 14: Genomic Prescriptions.

Further Reading.

Glossary.

Index.

GLYN MOODY is the author of Rebel Code. His work following Linux and its creator Linus Torvalds has been highly acclaimed. Moody’s writings have appeared in numerous publications including Wired magazine, The Economist, New Scientist, Financial Times, The Guardian, and The Daily Telegraph. In just a few decades, computers have become the single most important tool in genomics, thanks to their ability to unlock the meaning of the digital program that underlies all life. Driving this development is bioinformatics, the use of computers to store, search through, and analyze billions of DNA letters.

Bioinformatics turned the dream of sequencing the human genome into reality, allowing humanity to decode the deepest secrets contained in the digital core of life. The rise of bioinformatics has provided pharmaceutical companies with vital information that will aid the search for effective drugs and vaccines, helping to usher in the long-promised era of personalized medicine. It’s no wonder that bioinformatics is rapidly becoming the core discipline within biotechnology today–one that provides strategic inputs for pharmaceutical companies like Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Roche when they decide where to spend billions on the development of potentially lucrative products.

Digital Code of Life offers a behind-the-scenes look at the rapidly growing field of bioinformatics and what medical organizations and companies worldwide are doing to exploit its potential. Filled with in-depth insights and often surprising revelations, Digital Code of Life examines the personalities who have brought bioinformatics into being and explores the commercial applications and investment opportunities of this exciting and groundbreaking discipline, including those in emerging areas.

Glyn Moody, author of the widely praised Rebel Code, offers a fascinating account of the field of bioinformatics for both business technology enthusiasts and healthcare professionals. Here, for the first time, is the real drama of how the complete sequence of the human genome was put together, its resulting impact on the economy as well as the healthcare industry, and the fierce competition between the public and private sectors to reap its rewards.

Brimming with little-known insider facts and valuable insights on how to recognize growth companies in biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industries, Digital Code of Life will prove to be exciting reading for anyone interested in what is potentially the most important new high-technology sector and investment opportunity to emerge in recent years.

Praise for Digital Code of Life

"The man who wrote the best history yet of the open-source movement in Rebel Code gives us an equally lucid and penetrating look at bioinformatics. Well done!"
–Eric S. Raymond
Author of The Cathedral and the Bazaar

"This book provides a riveting account of the history of bioinformatics and of the manner in which bioinformatics has contributed to advancing our knowledge of the human genome. Glyn Moody has chronicled through reviews of key scientific papers and through interviews with leading scientists, the major developments in the field of genomics in the past half century, from the discovery of the double helix to the emergence of proteomics, pointing to their relevance to science, medicine, and industry and to the critical contributions of bioinformatics."
–Sam Hanash, University of Michigan
President of The Human Proteome Organisation